Date Approved

2014

Date Posted

4-22-2014

Degree Type

Open Access Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Psychology

First Advisor

Karen K. Saules

Second Advisor

Natalie Dove

Abstract

In contemporary society, women are free to adopt more flexible gender roles, ranging from those traditionally regarded as "masculine," to those considered more "androgynous," to more stereotypical female gender roles. Despite having greater freedom to adopt more diverse roles, some women continue to adopt traditional gender roles, in which self-objectification may persist. According to Calogero (2013), "self-objectification occurs when the objectifying gaze is turned inward, such that women view themselves through the perspective of an observer and engage in chronic self-surveillance" (p.312). The purpose of this study was to examine self-objectification among female students who participated in an extra-curricular activity here at Eastern Michigan University. Undergraduate females were be offered the opportunity to take an online questionnaire that assessed extracurricular activities, self-objectification, mood, body shame and appearance anxiety. It was hypothesized that females who participated in activities where the body as beauty was a major component would have a higher self-objectification, whereas females who participated in sports where the body as function was the major emphasis would have lower levels of self-objectification. Our study hypotheses were not supported and, in fact self-objectification was lower in activities thought to foster self-objectification. The reasons for this are unknown but would make an interesting future study.

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